2016-10-08 - The vincible Black Bat
Laura is out for a night, not really meandering any place in particular. Clearly that's not entirely true given she knows this particular neighborhood fairly well. She knocks heavily on the door, a large rectangular box braced against her shoulder that seems to be wafting steam. 21 Fort Joseph Lane. From the outside, it seems that nobody lives here. Heavily painted with graffiti, the door is stuck in the frame so it would take someone very near to superhuman to open. Also, no answer on the door knock, but there's a clear scent of a certain young lady inside. Sound of water running from upstairs, though so quiet you have to really listen for it. But again, no answer. Laura isn't quite superhuman, but isn't average by any stretch either. The owl eyed girl sniffs, her heightened senses catching all of the signs that the person she's looking for is home. Those senses are near that of a bloodhound, so there isn't much that she's apt to miss. She braces a combat boot against door while rotating the handle and shoves to free the door inwards. Not quite SWAT standard, but she doesn't want to ruin it either. If it were important, she'd pop a claw. While the door frame is shifted, the entire building creaks. Not even close to a high-tech security system, but it's blatantly obvious that anyone with a sense of hearing knows that someone is at the door. Yet, still, Lady Cassandra doesn't show her square-jawed face to her guest. The house seems fairly normal, with the downstairs being basically trashed but obviously used as an obstacle course through the junk, and the upstairs... The upstairs is sound-insulated, but not TOO well. The running water sounds like a bath, and the lights are low. But Laura notices, at the stairs, the scent of blood on the bottom step. Laura had arrived bearing pizza, trade for the last time she showed up keen on picking a spar. Setting the pie down, she kneels to sniff the blood and figure out who's it is and how old. Given who she knows lives here, any answer she gets won't be a big surprise. The blood seems to be Cassandra's, though there's hints of someone else's mixed in. At the top of the stairs, she also finds Cass' pants, which are torn down the left leg. If they're any indication of the wound, then Cass probably has a good eight inch slash. Looks like a clean cut, so not a claw attack. A thump from upstairs gives another hint of possible location; sounds like someone dropping something heavy. Laura pops the fist claws of her left hand as she heads up the stairs as quietly as she can manage, not knowing if or which of her stairs creaks. If there's a creak, she'll just charge and bust in but otherwise she'll try to scope the situation first incase she's misreading things. She's not totally gung ho. Cassandra is laying ...well, half inside the bathroom, her legs sticking out and blood staining the floor. She's lost a fair bit of blood, but she's yanking on the first aid kit and has knocked over her television stand. She looks up as Laura storms (quietly) into view, and says, "Fuck," clear as day. She looks pale, and has a black eye and probably other injuries hidden by her top. A quick glance at the pizza and a raised eyebrow suggests that she's not totally gone yet though. Laura is more than a little boggled seeing her situation. She brings in the pizza and marches over to see what she can do with her limited first aid knowledge. She's a capable field medic, ironically for her power set, but isn't quite sure yet what injuries she's looking at. Setting the pie down in reach, she asks the obvious,"Who?" Eight inch laceration along the left lower thigh, outside. Not deep enough to slice the tendons but enough to nick the muscle, she obviously dodged the worst of it but it's bleeding freely. Nearly broken nose, blow deflected into the cheekbone which is probably cracked, though it appears that her bones are as tough as she is. Opening her top, she shows small oval bruises, most right on the ribs, near the organs. She knows how to take a bad hit on the most defended areas, but she's messed the hell up. Groggily, Cass presses a hand over the leg wound and points to the med kit. Then says, "Mother." Shrugs, hiding the pain as well as possible. "Might be...close." Which is not likely to be a good thing, if this person can do this kind of damage to Cassandra. Laura raises a singular brow at the answer she gets, then gets to work with the patch up job. She's not keen on making poultices for bruises, but she knows how to stanch bleeding and sew cuts. It'll be a process, during which she asks,"Want me to cauterize or get alcohol, or you already done that?" She doesn't know what she's already cleaned away, presuming that this isn't her first rodeo. Cassandra Cain presses the wound together, saying, "Clean cut. Alcohol fine." She doesn't sound any less expressive than normal, but not any better either. If she wasn't unable to walk and pale as a ghost, one would almost think she was perfectly normal. "Sew. Cauter...ize slows...healing. What toppings?" She's physically shaking a little, going into shock. Cassandra Cain is in her underpants and a bra at this point, with her jacket open. If it matters. Laura is oblivious to her attire, going through the motions of sewing cuts and wrapping to put a stop to the bleeding. She replies in her own comparable tones,"Is meat and extra cheese." Her hands are trained, if somewhat inexperienced. Cassandra Cain is just glad that she's not having to do it herself. Hands are a bit unsteady right now. Watching the sewing detachedly, she lifts her head and looks Laura over, checking the girl for anything major. A slight nod of the head shows approval, though she keeps the smile inside. "Glue when done, need a...bath. What brings ya?" That last bit sounds amused, as if she's practiced saying it. Laura shrugs slightly, flipping open the box for Cass before following the instructions about medical tending. The pizza is what she said, having sausage, pepperoni, and canadian bacon amidst extra cheese. Beast Boy might be bored with it, but its apropo for most carnivores. She tends the task with her own brand of detachment, the sort of someone who's obviously no stranger to exposed flesh and blood, and replies while working,"Have down time, wrecked the Friends of Humanity base was looking for. Law is on top of them now, FBI helped raid. Was somewhat surprised, they somehow made someone I took down into a cyborg Sentinel. Other than that, wasn't quite ready to head back to New York." Cassandra Cain stopped tracking what Laura was saying after 'have down time', but isn't really the type to say so. Something about another bigger fight in the shoulder tension, Laura had a bit of work with whatever it was. She nods appreciatively showing respect for the effort that the warrior put in as she snags a slice of pizza. Need to replenish fluids too though, she says, "Bottle in fridge," when Laura's done talking and she's sewn up enough to get by. "Red one." Then flexes the leg, testing the sewing job careful Laura heads to the fridge to get what she was talking about. Red One, apparently her items are color coded. The disadvantages of not living in a school. Snagging the item, she brings it promptly back to the crime fighter. Unlike last time they met, she's plainly not suffering from strange items lodged in her person. as what skin shows is flawless. Including the knuckles that blades were sprouted from only minutes earlier, the same hand that hands an open bottle to Cass. Cassandra Cain accepts the bottle, drinking it without comment. It smells of chemicals and medicine. She chucks the empty into the kitchen, where it makes a rattling noise, and then starts to get up to her feet. Carefully, unsteadily, but doing it. As she does, she says, "Green are...antitoxin." Almost conversationally. Laura hrms as she watches her move along, observing her incase of anything off. She chews at the inside of her cheek, canting her head after a moment before asking,"So...who is Mother?" Her brows furrow as she contemplates what sort of person she must be, given what she knows Cass can do. Cassandra Cain's eyes flick to Laura when she asks the question, gaining context for what's being said. She stumbles to the bathtub, pulling her bra off over her head, and loses her balance a little in the process as she tries to talk while handling the delicate maneuver. "...Shiva," she gets out before her leg gives out. Laura is Jane-On-The-Spot when her leg gives out, an odd case of shortness being a major advantage as she catches her. She knits her brows subtly as she's keenly aware that Cass is topless. She doesn't add to the awkwardness with conversation though, being merciful in an obscure moment of tact. Emma might be proud. Cassandra leans on Laura, getting her balance back far too quickly. She doesn't want to appear weak, not even now. She stands on one leg so the weak one won't be overtaxed, mumbling thanks. Then a head motion toward the bath, noticing that she's been noticed and pretty much ignoring it. Not her problem at this point. Laura 's expression approximates 'la la la' as she accomodates her friend's request. She's not a body reader, but she gets the distinct impression of theater as she makes her way on over. She continues to keep her trap shut, reasoning the vibe as embarrassment, a feeling she's rather well aquainted with herself. Cassandra Cain looks at Laura, trying to figure out exactly how to deal with Laura. She's not exactly certain how the lady got turned on to this level by seeing scars and open wounds, but she really needs a bath and sleep. So she uses Laura as a leaning place long enough to lower herself into the bath, then leans back. Leans down, and then tosses her underpants into the bin. Without returning Laura's embarrasment, she's just too god damn tired. Well, losing three pints of blood will do that. ."Laura continues chewing on the inside of her cheek, her expression otherwise retaining the 'la la la' as she watches her just enough to be able to move if needed. Blood and scars make her happy, but that's not everything and she's not a lewd but neither is she a pro at life. She says,"Sorry your mother beat you up. I knocked this time." Eyes watching Laura, Cass actually smiles at the words. The intent behind them is clear, even if the words are kind of odd. She reaches up and puts a kiss on Laura's blushing cheek before settling back into the tub, to let the heat soak into her bones and the medicine amp up her blood regeneration. Laura blinks at the gesture, not a thing she's acquainted with. She bites down on the inside of her cheek to suppress her awkwardness, which doesn't totally help as she gazes downwards, brushing a hair behind her ear in classic twitch fashion. She clears her throat then, and goes to sit outside figuring that'd be best. Cassandra almost crosses her legs when she realizes that she's nearly being ogled. Almost, but she figures that Laura has to work through this. She lets Laura slip out for a bit, hoping that there's pizza left when she's done her bath. Oh, and needs to set the security, and she has to get up and patr... When Laura looks in next, Cassandra isn't responding. No danger, she's just completely passed out in the tub, blood loss and extreme exhaustion taking their toll. She almost looks cute in her sleep. Laura isn't a pig, whatever else she is. Awkward at the foremost. She only has a couple of slices, most of it left for the other. Before she leaves, she'll make an effort at fixing the door, not wanting to compound the issues of being an incapacitated crime fighter. She would then linger nearby for a while after that, most likely. Laura isn't inclined to leave her friend alone under the circumstances. She's protective like that.